1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a protective boot for enclosing a flexible rotating joint, and more specifically to a constant velocity (CV) joint boot with sealing sleeves having seams for rapidly installing the boot and sleeves.
2. Description of the Related Art
Protective boots for CV joints and similar axle joints have been proposed and are well known in the art as evidenced by the U.S. Patents to Charles C. Bishoff, U.S. Pat. No. 2,025,635; Stergis M. Stergis, U.S. Pat. No. 2,378,046; Glenn F. Gehrke, U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,808; Clinton E. Grove et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,869; Del V. Tiegs, U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,513; Jerome G. Belter, U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,913; and Marcel Van Steenbrugge, U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,746. In addition, a number of foreign patents disclose protective boots as evidenced by French Patent No. 550,651 to A. Tasset; Russian Patent No. 1,155,819 to V. A. Popovtsev; and British Patent No. 2,230,570 to Michael C, Shepherd.
Protective boots for enclosing CV joints and other similar flexible rotating joints have a generally tubular shape with end openings and a bulbous or bellows like mid-portion having crests and troughs. Original equipment protective boots which are constructed as a one-part body pose no particular difficulty during initial installation, as the assembly of the CV joint is carried out simultaneously. However, when the original equipment boot becomes defective because of the presence of a cut, a tear, a crack, or a porosity leak, the boot may lose lubricant, or allow water or dirt to enter the boot, causing eventual deterioration of the joint. Replacement of the original equipment boot with another one-part boot necessitates, at least, partial disassembly of the joint because of a need to thread the axle shaft through the boot. The result is high labor cost associated with the disassembly of the joint for an otherwise relatively simple task. It is therefore desirable to provide a protective boot which can be installed quickly and easily, without disassembly of the joint. Such easily installed protective boots have at least one seam running from one end opening to the other.
The French patent to Tasset discloses a protective boot with a seam which can be slipped over the joint without any disassembly thereof. The longitudinal seam which traverses the length of the protective boot from one opening to the other has a tongue on one side of the seam and a corresponding groove on the other side. A number of holes pass through the tongue and a number of holes, aligned with the previous holes, pass through the groove. A plurality of rivets, driven through the holes, fasten the sides of the seal together.
The patent to Stergis shows a protective boot which uses a cord, threaded through holes on either side of a seam within the boot, to fasten the seam together. The patents to Belter and Bishoff each use a zipper to fasten together the sides of a seam within a protective boot. A protective boot with a seam having a tongue on one side of the seam and a groove on the other, which is fastened together by an adhesive, is disclosed by the patent to Van Steenbrugge. The patent to Shepherd also employs an adhesive to fasten together the flat faces of the opposing sides of a seal within a protective boot.
The patent to Grove et al. discloses the use of adapter rings placed within the end openings of a protective boot thereby permitting a single boot size to be fitted to several different axle and housing sizes and shapes. The patent to Gehrke discloses a venting arrangement for a stroking universal joint which utilizes a vent sleeve with a seam that is seated upon the drive shaft and maintained in position by the clamped neck portion of a flexible elastomeric protective boot.
Alternatively, the protective boot may be spiral as shown by the patent to Popovtsev. A spiral protective boot having a spiral seal within the boot and an interlocking sealing means to fasten the seal together is shown in the patent to Tiegs et al.
However, none of the prior art protective boots, which have a seam for rapid installation around CV joints and similar axle devices, include a sleeve with a seam having a flange which improves the overall strength and the integrity of the seam therein. Nor do any of the prior art devices include a sealing means having, as seen in cross section, an arrow shaped male mating edge and a complimentary female mating groove. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a CV joint protective boot solving the aforementioned problems is desired.